and i suspect the israelis are finding the new egypt very different than the old egypt. the old egypt did not see hamas as a brother in arms. they saw hamas as really a very different sort of arab cause. that's president mubarak. and now the president of egypt sees hamas as part of the larger muslim brotherhood movement. so israel didn't have anyone, probably, to talk to. and i suspect the united states was worried that this situation was going to possibly spin out of control. >> and obviously, since that meeting finished, the rockets, as he we said, the worst our reporters have seen. nick, where are we going from here? everyone is talking about a cease-fire. but yet when hillary clinton spoke about it, the united states spoke about it today, they didn't use that word. they used this word i did not understand called de-escalating. here is the secretary of state. >> america's commitment to israel's security is rock-solid. and unwavering. that is why we believe it is essential to deescalate the situation in gaza. >> nick, what does deescalate mean? is that diplomatic doubl